Operation: Cheering Up
by Autobot-Tiff
Summary: Zim shows a rare soft side towards Gir after yelling at him and hurting his feelings. Then, Zim gets his revenge on Dib which doesn’t turn out the way he planned. Tons of fluff ahead!
1. Cheering Up Gir

**Invader Zim belongs to Nickelodeon.**

**Requested by my good friend KatLovesTF. I hope you wuv this! Check out my story cover too! **

**Laughter Makes Everything Better**

It was finally the end of the week, and Zim was desperate to go home. He was in a bitter mood because he had a very frustrating week, including that day.

All week, he was constantly being bothered by Dib and a few other kids. It was becoming very frustrating to continue his mission here on Earth while being harassed by his human enemy, Dib.

_At least it's the end of the week, _Zim thought. He could finally relax a bit when he got home, and then would go back to his evil planet conquering plans.

But once he got to his house and down into his lab, he saw what a mess his lab was. Things were knocked down, his equipment was all over the floor, and the floor was littered with all his lab tools.

Zim was already feeling upset when he got home, but seeing this made him feel even more upset. "Gir! Where are you!"

His little robot SIR poked his head from under a huge toolbox that he was currently being buried under. He was happy to see his alien master again. "Hi Zim!"

Zim crossed his arms. "What happened down here? Why is my lab all messed up?"

Gir climbed out from under the toolbox. "I'm sorry," he said in a quiet voice. "I-I was looking for my colors down here, a-and I fell off the high shelf. I tried to put everything back, but more stuff kept falling. I-It was an accident."

Already having his mind clouded with tired frustration, Zim suddenly snapped. He grabbed Gir's little wrist and yanked him towards him while yelling at him. "So this mess is your fault? I leave for a few hours, and you decide to wreck my whole lab! What were you thinking?!"

Zim was tugging angrily at Gir's wrist to the point where it was starting to hurt him. Gir began whimpering in pain, and tried to tug his wrist free. Zim never yelled at him like this, and it was scaring him. Tears started forming in his eyes as Zim kept yelling at him.

"I can't believe you just trashed my own lab!" Zim scolded even louder, still tugging on Gir's wrist. "Now I'm going to have to clean up your mess! I told you to stay out of my lab while I was gone! But you never listen! Never!"

"No Zim! Stop! I-I'm sorry!" Gir was tearfully apologizing over and over, but it didn't stop Zim from continuing to yell at him.

Finally, Zim released his wrist and sent Gir out of his lab. "You mess up _everything, _Gir!" He muttered loud enough for Gir to hear on the way out. Whimpering, Gir ran out of his lab while cradling his sore wrist.

Zim let out a sigh of frustration, running a tired gloved hand over his face. He spent the next several minutes picking up his equipment and tools.

When he was putting one of his lab tables upright, he suddenly spotted something on the floor. Zim saw Gir's crayon box and a piece of white paper laying on the floor. After he put some nearby scattered crayons back into the box, he picked up the piece of paper. Once he turned the paper around, his eyes widened at what he saw.

On the paper was a childish drawing of Zim and Gir holding hands, smiling and being surrounded by floating pink hearts. Zim was taken back by the drawing. He didn't realize that Gir actually drew something so thoughtful for him. And he didn't realize Gir was trying to make him feel better with this drawing.

Zim was suddenly consumed with guilt. He felt horrible yelling at Gir for something that was accident. And worse, he realized he could have hurt Gir's little wrist when he was furiously yanking on it.

Zim suddenly dashed out of his lab to look for Gir. He wanted to make sure he didn't damage his little robot friend's wrist too much. He just hoped that Gir didn't try to run away from the base.

The first place he checked was Gir's room. He heard sad whimpers and soft crying coming from under a blanket on Gir's bed.

Hearing Gir's crying made Zim feel even more guilty and terrible. He right away went to sit on the edge of the bed. He was hesitant, but he reached out to gently rub the trembling whimpering lump.

When Gir felt Zim's hand rub his back through the blanket, he scooted away from him. Underneath his blanket, he was cradling and rubbing his left wrist that still hurt after all of Zim's tugging and pulling. "L-Leave me alone, master!" he whimpered out.

"Gir, it's okay," Zim said in his rare soothing voice. "I'm not angry anymore. I just came to apologize. I am so, very sorry that I yelled at you. I was just so frustrated and tired from a long week being harassed by the filthy human children, that I accidentally took my anger out on you. I never meant what I said back there, not a single word."

Gir shyly poked his head out from under the blanket. Zim could see that his once bright optics now looked a little dull, most likely from crying earlier.

"And another thing," Zim continued. "I'm sorry if I hurt your wrist. I didn't damage it too badly, did I?"

Gir whimpered a little, and held his left wrist out. "I-It hurts."

"Let me see."

Gir quickly pulled his wrist away, thinking Zim was going to hurt him again. Zim saw the concerned and worried look in the little robot's optics. "Gir, it's _okay,_" he coaxed gently. "I promise I will be gentle. I just want to see it so I can help you."

Gir still seemed hesitant, but he saw how Zim didn't look mad or vicious anymore. Very slowly, he held his wrist out and let Zim gently take it.

Zim carefully examined the tiny wrist. It didn't look like any wiring was damaged or torn. But just in case, Zim told Gir to sit tight while he went to go get some bandages.

When he came back, Zim gingerly wrapped Gir's wrist in bandages before soothingly rubbing the area to help with the soreness. "There. Is that better?"

Gir nodded. "Mm-hmm. It feels all better now." His face suddenly fell. "Master? Do I always mess everything up? I'm sorry if I do."

Zim turned away. He obviously heard what he muttered. And now, Gir thought that was the truth. "No, no of course not. You're a very helpful little SIR unit. I couldn't ask for a better robot minion than you, Gir."

That last sentence made Gir smile. He smiled even wider when Zim suddenly pulled his drawing that he kept inside his Irken backpack. "And this," said Zim. "this is beautiful. You are quite the artist, Gir."

"You like it?" Gir asked with wide hopeful eyes.

"Of course I do," Zim said. "I absolutely love it. In fact, I'm going to keep it in my folder that I take to skool so I can always have something to cheer me up whenever I'm away from the base."

Gir felt so happy that his drawing made his alien master so happy. That was the whole reason he drew it for him in the first place. Since he saw how Zim had such a rough week, he decided to draw something special that would cheer Zim right up.

The little robot suddenly winced as his wrist pulsed a little with pain. "Owie...y-you hurt me real bad."

Zim's face fell when he saw Gir cradle his wrist again. "Again, I'm sorry Gir. I never meant to yell at you. But know that I never meant anything I said back there. Okay?" He reached out to carefully wipe a tear from the corner of Gir's optic. "Hey, don't be sad anymore. It's okay, Gir."

Zim saw that Gir still wouldn't smile so he did some quick thinking on how to make him feel better. Then, the perfect idea came to his mind. Using his metal arms, he sneakily lifted up Gir's blanket to hover above the little robot. Then he dropped it to drape over Gir, who squeaked in surprise. "Oh Gir, please don't be sad anymore. You know you don't have to—Gir? Gir, where did you go?"

Zim suddenly started pretending like he couldn't see Gir anymore now that he was covered by his blanket. Gir started to giggle under the soft fabric. "I'm right here!" he called out from underneath.

"Gir? Is that you? Where are you? I can't see you!" Zim smiled again the sound of Gir's giggling under the blanket. He continued his playful acting. "Did you disappear? Did you turn invisible?"

Gir popped his head from under his blanket. "I'm right here! Right here, see?"

Zim pretended like he couldn't see him in plain sight. He suddenly pretended to be scared. "Ohhh I hear voices! It sounds like ghost voices! Is that you, Gir? When did you become a ghost?"

The little robot giggled even harder. "Here I am! Here!" He waved his tiny arms around, trying to get his master's attention. When he still couldn't get Zim's attention, he started tugging on Zim's long shirt. "Here I am! Here I am!"

"Gir, there you are!" Zim exclaimed, lifting Gir into his arms. "Why did you disappear on me like that?"

Gir squealed and giggled as he was lifted above Zim's head. "You so silly!"

Zim shook his head with a smile. Holding Gir above his head made him suddenly remember something he saw while strolling through the park the other day. He saw many human parents do this with their children, and he figured this could make Gir feel a hundred percent better and forget about Zim yelling at him. So he decided to try it out.

He cradled Gir in his lap with one arm, and used his free hand to gently wiggle and poke around Gir's metal tummy. Zim was satisfied when Gir instantly started giggling sweetly and wriggling around in his lap just like he saw the little human kids react.

But if there was one thing that Zim greatly noticed, he saw that Gir wasn't even trying to stop him or push his hand away. He just kept giggling like a little child while squirming a little in his lap.

Zim smirked at his little SIR robot. "Why aren't you trying to stop me, Gir? Is is because you like this? Hm?"

Through his loud giggles, Gir managed to nod which surprised Zim. But that response made Zim more determined to keep going with this strange new activity. He wanted to drive Gir crazy with laughter, as he heard many humans say.

This time, he slipped both his hands under Gir's arms and rapidly wiggled his fingers to see how Gir would react. The reaction was instantaneous; the little robot started shrieking laughter while squirming around more wildly. And out of reflex, Gir clamped his arms down to his sides which didn't help since it trapped Zim's still moving fingers against him.

"AAAH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! MASTER NO! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! THAT TICKLES! HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"Well of course it does," Zim said over Gir's loud laughter. "It's supposed to!"

Gir was squirming so much, he actually rolled off Zim's lap. But he quickly found himself being pinned down against his bed with his little arms being held up by Zim's own metal arms that sprouted from his backpack.

Zim was about to continue, but then stopped when he saw Gir's bandaged wrist. "Oh I'm sorry, Gir," he said, releasing Gir's arms. "Maybe I should stop. I don't want to accidentally hurt your wrist even more by making you move around too much." He was surprised when Gir's face fell and he even whined a little.

"Aww..." He held out his bandaged wrist. "But it's fine. It doesn't hurt no more."

Zim stared at him in disbelief. "You actually want me to continue?"

Gir nodded shyly. "It makes my wrist feel better."

A playful smirk suddenly spread across Zim's face. "Well then...why don't I make your wrist heal even more!" He used his metal arms to gently pin Gir's wrists above his head. "You asked for it, Gir!"

Gir squealed and giggled like crazy as he felt Zim's gloved claws stroke up and down his sides. "EEEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

"You like that, Gir?" Zim asked teasingly, moving higher to wiggle his fingers under Gir's underarms.

Gir shrieked and laughed even harder while tugging at his trapped arms. "AAAAAHHH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! ZIMMY NO! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Zim stopped for a moment. He couldn't help but smile a bit when he heard Gir call him the cute nickname he had for him. Zim didn't mind really as long as Gir never called him that in public or outside the base.

As Zim continued his little assault on Gir, he was suddenly kicked in his side by one of Gir's wildly kicking legs. It didn't hurt, but it did startle him a little. He pretended to be angry about it. "Did you seriously just kick me, Gir?"

Before Gir could even answer, he squeaked when he was suddenly being held upside down by his ankles by Zim's metal arms. He was giggling like crazy as he was upside down.

Zim gave him a little shake. "Oh now you're _laughing _at me? You dare laugh at your brilliant Irken master!"

Gir couldn't stop giggling at how silly Zim was acting towards him. "You so silly, Zimmy!" He screeched laughter again the second Zim attacked his underarms again. "AAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! ZIMMY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO-HO-HO-HO!"

"What's the matter?" Zim asked teasingly. "I thought you wanted me tickle you."

Gir was too busy laughing and giggling like crazy to respond. Despite being upside down, he was twisting from side to side, trying to avoid Zim's tickling fingers.

Zim noticed how Gir was trying to bat his hands away whenever he reached for his little underarms. "So...you think you can swat me away? You think that will stop me?" Gir nodded with a cute giggle. "In that case..."

Zim used his metal arms to pin Gir down on his bed again. After he had his little wrists secured over his head, Zim carefully sat on his legs to keep Gir still.

When Gir saw Zim slowly inching his wiggling fingers towards his tummy, he started wriggling and giggling in anticipation.

"Why are you laughing already, Gir? I haven't even touched you yet!" Zim said with a smirk.

The second his wiggling fingers touched the metal surface of Gir's belly, Gir right away got lost in a fit of hysterical laughter. "AAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! ZIMMYYYYYY! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO PLEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! N-NOT MY TUMMY! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Zim chuckled evilly. "There is no escape, Gir. You're stuck here trapped as my little robot prisoner!" He switched to softly raking his fingers back and forth along Gir's upper and lower belly.

Gir was desperately trying to twist on his sides to avoid Zim's moving fingers, but it was no use. But despite being tickle tortured, Gir didn't mind at all. In fact, he wanted Zim to continue! But at the same time, the tickles were making him lose it.

Gir was laughing so much, little tears were starting to form in the corners of his optics. Instead of stopping, Zim kept tickling his little robot friend. He made Gir screech laughter again by attacking his little tummy with rapidly moving fingers.

"No crying, Gir!" he said. "I will not tolerate any sad little SIR units in my base."

"AAAH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! ZIMMY! HA-HA-HA-HA! PLEEEEASE!"

"Please?" Zim repeated innocently. "You want me to keep giving you more tickles?" Gir shook his head while still laughing. "Well since you asked so politely, of course I will!"

Zim suddenly remembered something else he saw during his human observation in the park. He saw that this action drove little humans absolutely insane with laughter, and he wanted to know if this would work on Gir.

First, he leaned his head down to Gir's belly. He took a deep breath, pressed his lips against his tummy, and blew loudly.

Instantly, Gir screamed with crazy loud laughter and squirmed like crazy on his bed. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! NO ZIMMY! NO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! ZIMMY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Zim grinned against Gir's little tummy. He couldn't believe that something so simple was driving Gir crazy with laughter. All he was doing was blowing and making funny sounds against Gir's belly.

"AAAAAHHHH! ZIMMYYYYYYY! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO PLEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! N-NO MORE! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

"No more what?" Zim asked, speaking against Gir's tummy.

"AHA-HA-HA-HA! N-NO MORE TICKLES! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

"Oh you want more? Well okay then!" Zim playfully growled against the metal surface of Gir's belly before blowing more loud raspberries. "_PFFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

"AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! NO ZIMMY! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! STO-HO-HO-HOP!" More happy tears started running down Gir's cheeks. He felt like he was going to explode from laughing so much! And to be even a little more mean, Zim even switched from raspberries to playful nipping over and over. "PLEASE ZIMMY! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! NO MO-HO-HO-HORE! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I-I CAN'T TA-HA-HA-HAKE NO MORE! HA-HA-HA-HA! ZIMMY STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

Zim finally decided to stop since Gir was practically crying laughter, and he could feel him starting to get overheated from all that laughing. He waited until Gir finally caught his breath. "Feeling better?"

Gir nodded. He suddenly started to yawn and rub his optics. "Zimmy, I'm tired. C-Can you sleep with me? Pweeeease?"

Zim hesitated. "But I still have something to finish up down in my—" He was cut off when Gir started tugging on his shirt while whining and whimpering like a sad puppy. He even gave Zim sad puppy eyes, and stuck out his lower lip in a sad pout.

"Oh all right," he said, lifting Gir into his arms. "I suppose I do need some rest after a long week." A nap actually did sound good to Zim.

"Yaaay!" Gir exclaimed happily, hugging Zim around his stomach.

As soon as Zim laid down on the bed, Gir snuggled up against him and wrapped his arms around Zim again. "Good night, Zimmy," Gir said sleepily. "I wuv you."

Zim felt touched when Gir said that. He wrapped an arm around his little SIR robot. "And I love you too, Gir..." Then he covered them both with the blanket, shut his eyes, and drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

**THE END**


	2. Secret Gets Out 2

**Invader Zim belongs to Nickelodeon.**

**Surprise! Here's another wholesome story that came from a funny dream I had. Sequel to _The Secret Gets Out._**

**WARNING: unecessary cute fluff that may be adorably overwhelming to some readers.**

**The Secret Gets Out: Part 2**

Ever since that previous encounter with Dib, Zim was feeling on edge. For the past three days, he was filled with paranoia because both Dib and Gir would be giving him sneaky, mischievous smirks. Now they knew. They both knew about his secret weakness, and there was no denying it.

Now it felt like Dib and Gir were always after him, waiting and watching for the right moment. Zim had already been suprised attacked by Gir once, and he didn't want that to happen to him again.

When Gir launched that surprise tickle attack on Zim, it was at the absolute worst time for him. He was right in the middle of a video call with the Tallest when it happened. Gir ended up interrupting Zim by sneaking up behind him and tickling him from behind.

Zim clearly wasn't expecting the sudden attack and ended up collapsing to the floor and laughing, as Gir giggled and sat on top of him while continuing his tickling fun.

While Zim was being pinned to the floor and being tickle tortured by his own SIR unit, the Tallest watched what was happening intently. They were about to hang up, but watching this was just way too funny.

And every time Zim managed to push Gir off of him to crawl to the TV and hang up, Gir would jump on him again and tickle under his arms furiously.

Zim's Irken leaders ended up watching him get tickled by Gir for almost fifteen minutes straight. "I-I'M SORRY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE M-MY TALLEST!" Zim managed to say through his loud laughs. "I'LL HA-HA-HA-HAVE TO CALL YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO B-BA-HA-HA-HA-HACK! I-I'M SORRY YOU HA-HA-HA-HAD TO SEE-HEE-HEE THIS!" Using whatever strength he had left, Zim reached a hand out and ended the call.

Zim was so tired to get up after Gir finally stopped tickling him. And when he did get up, he hugged himself because now his belly and sides hurt. "Ow," he winced.

Gir suddenly grew concerned at his alien master. "What's wrong, master?" He saw Zim hugging his tummy. "Does your tummy hurt?" Zim nodded. "Aww I'll make you feel better!"

Zim squeaked in surprise when Gir suddenly picked him up and placed him on the couch. Before he could ask, Gir raced out of the room. He returned a minute later with a small box of band-aids. "What are those for?" Zim asked, pointing to the box.

Gir climbed on the couch and sat on his waist. "It's for your tummy. To make you feel alllll better!"

Zim looked totally perplexed. "What does that have to do with—" He was cut off when Gir pushed his long shirt up and started placing colorful band-aids all over his belly. Zim twitched and giggled because it tickled a little. "Gir, stop tha-ha-ha-hat! I'm fine already!"

In the end, Zim had a rainbow of colorful band-aids all over his entire tummy.

"There!" Gir said proudly, patting Zim's stomach. "That will make your tummy stop hurting."

Zim just rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt down. He thought about taking the band-aids off, but Gir wouldn't let him. And besides, it hurt a little to peel the sticky band-aids off his skin so Zim just left them on. At least they didn't bother him too much.

For the rest of the day, Zim was watching Gir like a hawk. He was _not _about to let him sneak attack him again! But he quickly got distracted when he thought back to his encounter with Dib. It made him shiver in fear knowing his human enemy knowed a secret weakness of his.

But now, instead of feeling paranoid, Zim now felt confident and determined. If Dib thought it was so funny to suddenly attack him and nearly make him laugh until he cried a river, then he would get Dib back. Except this time, Zim wanted to do the same to Dib and make him suffer as much as he did!

And so he carefully put together a plan to get back at his human enemy.

But the next morning as Zim was getting ready to go to skool, he didn't realize that he would get another surprise from his little robot friend, Gir.

Zim was sitting at the kitchen table, eating waffles that Gir made for breakfast. When he was done eating, he called out to Gir that he was leaving for skool and to watch over their base. Just as he was walking to the door, Zim suddenly yelped in surprise as he felt himself being tackled to the floor.

"Aaah! Gir, what are you doing? Get off of me!"

Gir just giggled and shouted, "Tickle fight!"

Before Zim could react, he began laughing loudly in surprise as Gir attacked his underarms with rapidly moving fingers. "AAAH! GIR STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!"

Gir giggled at the sound of his master's silly laughter again. He remembered Zim saying something about "today is going to be a long and horrible day with Dib around" so he decided to cheer him up before Zim went to skool. And so far, it seemed to be working.

Zim twitched with a shriek as Gir now used one hand to move further down and tickle his belly while his other hand was shoved under Zim's right arm."AAAH! G-GIR! GIR PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! S-STOP DOI-HI-HI-HING THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

Nothing Zim did was making Gir stop. He tried pushing Gir away from his stomach, but that just made things worse because Gir would just tickle him on another spot.

Within two minutes, Gir already had Zim at his weakest point. He was currently sitting on Zim's waist, pinning him down on his back while his little hands were underneath his long shirt, stroking and wiggling over the warm green skin of Zim's tummy. Gir giggled to himself when he saw that Zim still had his band-aids.

This was driving Zim nuts! He couldn't push Gir away anymore because he was slowly becoming weak with laughter. Already, tiny tears were leaking in the corners of his eyes.

Finally, Zim was able to get Gir to stop after promising that he would play with him after he got home from skool.

Breathing heavily, Zim adjusted his long shirt and nearly stumbled out the door. He quickly shut the door behind him just in case Gir decided to sneak up on him with one last tickle attack.

As he was walking down the sidewalk, Zim suddenly froze when he saw Dib walking towards him. He didn't think nothing of it at first, but as soon as Dib flashed him a playful smirk and raised his hands while wiggling his fingers, Zim panicked and ran the other way.

Dib was amused by his reaction, and started chasing Zim down the sidewalk all the way to skool.

"Leave me alone!" Zim called out as Dib kept chasing him with his wiggling fingers in the air. "I just want to go to skool and pretend to be normal!"

Lucky for Zim, the bell rang as soon as he burst through the door of his classroom. He sat down at his desk, relieved that Dib couldn't bother him anymore. But that relief didn't last long.

All throughout the school day, Zim was thinking about only one thing: to go home. He was even more panicky during recess and lunch because that meant Dib could sneak up on him at any time. And he did try to.

Whenever he got close enough, Dib would jump in front of Zim and pretend like he was about to tickle him. And Zim would shriek and run away like if his life depended on it! Which in Zim's opinion, it actually did.

Kids nearby would stare at Zim like if he was nuts as he ran away shrieking with Dib chasing him. But they just shrugged it off thinking Zim was playing some sort of game with Dib, or just being his weird self.

Ducking behind a tree, the Irken alien panted as he struggled to catch his breath. "I...I think I lost him," Zim said to himself. He decided to remain in this spot for the rest of the lunch period, hoping Dib wouldn't be able to find him.

Zim cautiously peered behind the tree for any sign of Dib, but he didn't see anything. He hoped this was a well hidden spot. He somehow managed to lose Dib when he was running circles around the crowded playground.

Peeking out one last time, Zim had to hold back a gasp when he saw Dib standing yards away and looking in his direction. He quickly ducked behind the tree again and shivered. _How did the human find me so quickly? _Zim wondered.

When he cautiously peeked out again, Dib was gone. Zim relaxed a little. "M-Maybe it was just an illusion," he said out loud to himself. "I mean, could the Dib-human really detect me that quickly? I doubt it."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Zim sharply gasped and froze when he realized he wasn't alone. That voice...could only belong to one person. Zim slowly turned around...and shrieked as Dib lunged at him, tackling him to the ground face first. "Get off of me Dib-human! Get off of me!"

Instead of answering, Dib right away slipped his hands under Zim's arms and began rapidly wiggling his fingers. Zim jolted and began laughing loudly.

"AHH! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! STOP IT DIB! STOP THI-HI-HI-HI-HIS RIGHT N-NA-HA-HA-HOW!"

Dib just giggled and wiggled his fingers more faster. It felt so good for him to finally overpower his alien enemy. And it was very entertaining for Dib to see Zim squirm like a bug as he kept tickling him.

"STOP IT DIB! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!"

"What's the matter, Zim?" Dib asked teasingly over Zim's laughter. "Is this too much for you to handle?"

"HA-HA-HA-HA! Y-YOU BETTER STOP THI-HI-HI-HIS RIGHT NOW I-IF YOU KNOW WHA-HA-HA-HA-HAT'S GOOD FOR YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO DIB-HUMAN!" Zim tried to sound angry, but his laughter made him sound less intimidating.

Dib was clearly not intimidated, and kept tickling the Irken alien. In an attempt to protect himself, Zim rolled on his back. But even that didn't help because Dib then moved his hands downward to tickle Zim's belly.

Zim jolted with a silly, high-pitched shriek the second he felt Dib's wiggling fingers touch his tummy. "AAAHHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! STOP IT HUMAN! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! D-DON'T TOUCH ME-HEE-HEE-HEE THERE!"

Dib then remembered how sensitive Zim's skin was so he decided to target him there next. He shoved his hand under Zim's shirt and began stroking and wiggling his fingers over the warm skin. That just made Zim jolt and laugh even harder.

"AAAHH! NO STOP! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

Dib suddenly stopped when his fingers brushed over what felt like plastic patches on Zim's belly. He lifted up Zim's shirt a little to see what was it and then snickered when he saw all the band-aids on his tummy. "Why do you have all these band-aids on your stomach, Zim?"

Zim was panting heavily when Dib stopped tickling him for a moment. "That's...T-That's none of your business, you filthy human!"

"What alien covers himself in band-aids?"

"I don't tell you how to live _your _pathetic life!"

"Then why do have these band-aids on?"

"As if I would tell you!"

Dib narrowed his eyes at Zim. And then, without warning, he slipped his hands under Zim's arms and wiggled his fingers mercilessly.

Zim went limp for a few seconds, and then squirmed on the grass wildly while laughing his hardest. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! S-STOP THI-HI-HI-HI-HIS DIB! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP!"

Zim desperately tried to shove Dib off of him, but his own laughter was starting to weaken him. Dib kept switching from tickling his belly to his underarms over an over, each time making Zim laugh harder and harder.

It wasn't long until Dib actually made Zim laugh himself to tears. But fortunately for Zim, the bell rang and signaled the end of lunch recess.

"You're lucky, Zim," Dib said, getting of the heavily panting alien. "You were saved by the bell. But next time, I'll get you back and make sure you won't have any strength to conquer this planet anymore! That's right. I'm gonna tickle you until you pass out! Or maybe until you die!"

Zim was too tired to respond. He laid limply on the grass, breathing heavily with tiny tears in his eyes. As Dib walked away, Zim glared at him behind his back. But then he looked at his own hands in curiosity and defeat.

"How can this be?" he asked himself. "How could I be defeated by the Dib-human? All he did was move his fingers on certain spots. An Irken invader should never be defeated by the enemy! What is this...weird thing the human did? I must know!"

As soon as skool ended, Zim rushed home so he wouldn't be attacked by Dib again. The first thing he did was head down to his underground lab to some research—a ton of research. He wanted to know what caused him to laugh just by a simple soft touch.

Zim soon found out what that action was. Humans called it "tickling", and it was a very common action among families and young children, even teens. And just like Zim had recently experienced, it involved soft strokes and pokes that could easily render a victim to a laughing, teary pile of mush.

"So that's what the stink-boy was doing to me," Zim said to himself after reading off his large computer screen. "If this...tickling thing worked on me, then it must work on the human boy too!" A wicked grin slowly spread across Zim's face.

After reading and collecting some information on a few more websites, Zim had seen all he needed to see. All this new information benefited him greatly. And now, Zim realized that he had a huge advantage over Dib now.

He rubbed his hands together manically and chuckled evilly. Zim has something very special planned for Dib the next day.

**The next day**

As soon as skool was over, Zim was waiting for Dib to walk by while he was hiding behind a bush. Gir was with him, trembling in excitement while wearing his dog costume.

"When is Mary gonna come?" Gir asked excitedly. He could never get Dib's name right.

"Quiet, Gir!" Zim shushed him. "You'll blow our cover! He'll come by any minute now." He peered through the bush leaves. "Ooh! I see him! Gir, get into position!" Zim ducked behind the bush again while Gir threw himself out, landing on his face just as Dib walked by.

Dib jumped a little when Gir came out of nowhere. "Gir?" he asked. When Gir made no attempt to move, he knelt down and gently shook his shoulder. He suddenly yelped when Gir leaped on his face. "Aahhh! What the—?!"

"I got him!" Gir triumphantly said.

"Quick!" said Zim, jumping out of the bush. "Let's get him out of here before somebody sees!"

Dib had no idea what was going on, especially since both Gir and Zim grabbed him by his arms and legs and carried him in an awkward position down the street. "Okay, will somebody please explain to me what is going on?"

Before Zim could answer, Gir piped in. "We're taking you back to our house! So Zim can serve you a nice cold glass of revenge!"

"Dang it, Gir! I wanted to say that!" said Zim.

Dib's eyes widened. "You're going to _what?! _But—revenge? Revenge for what?"

"You know what," Zim growled back.

"Uh, I really don't. Not unless you tell me."

Zim sighed. "Fine. Maybe this will refresh your tiny memory. I am simply getting my revenge for what you did to me three days ago."

Dib was still confused. "I still don't see what you're—"

"Silence human and let me finish!" Zim hissed. "As I was saying, you nearly made me laugh to death with your weird...human action called 'tickling'. And not just three days ago! I haven't forgotten about your recent attack that happened today! So now I have two reasons to get my revenge, and make your inferior human organs explode!"

Sudden realization struck the young boy's mind. He gasped sharply. "W-Wait what?! Y-You're not—you're not serious, are you Zim?"

The little alien flashed him an wicked grin. "As serious as what you humans call a heart attack!"

As soon as they got to Zim's disguised home, Dib was dumped on a lab table downstairs in Zim's underground lab. Feeling super nervous, Dib hugged his knees to his chest. "C'mon Zim, y-you don't have to do this."

"Actually, I do. But first thing's first..." Zim gently tugged at the end of Dib's black jacket. "The jacket needs to go."

Dib's eyes widened, and he hugged himself tighter. "W-What?"

"You heard me," said Zim. "If I want to attack you properly, I can't do that with your protective jacket covering."

"You're not getting my jacket, Zim!"

"Just as I thought...Gir, get the jacket."

Before Dib could react, he was tackled against the table again by Gir. He desperately tried to keep his jacket on, but Gir somehow managed to tug it off. Once he was finally stripped of his jacket, Dib was restrained to the table with his arms pinned over his head by Zim's metal arms that sprouted from his backpack.

The little trapped human squirmed nervously on the table. He shivered a little from the cold metallic surface of the table. "C'mon Zim, let me go! Look I'm sorry if I made you mad because I tickled you, but can you just drop it? It was just for fun, you know?"

"Well if that was so much fun for you, the this will be fun for me!" Zim climbed into top of the table, and studied the trapped boy's body. "Now...how should I do this? I've obtanined much information with my new study, and I want to make sure you suffer as much as I did. So...how about I just attack the exact same spots you did!"

"Wait no!"

Zim was about to begin his attack, but was surprised when Dib started giggling and squirming a little. "What are you doing, human? I haven't even touched you yet!"

Zim just brushed it off and decided to continue with his revenge. Since this was his first time actually tickling someone, he didn't really know how to do it properly. Zim was being too hard at first when he started poking and prodding at Dib's sides. Dib ended up wincing and yelping that Zim was hurting him, so the little alien knew he did something wrong.

But once he found the right amount of pressure, his gentle pokes were finally making Dib giggle and squirm like a little bug. Then, Zim started the real torture; he attacked Dib's underarms, sides, and stomach with no mercy. He rendered poor Dib into a mess of loud, shrieking hysterics within two minutes.

"STOP ZIM! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"You'll get no mercy, human filth!" Zim said over the sound of Dib's laughter. "Because you made me suffer, I'm going to make you suffer even harder!" He kept switching from Dib's underarms to his belly, over and over, faster and faster.

Zim was so caught up in his revenge, that he didn't realize how he was slowly crossing the line for Dib. No matter much Dib shrieked and begged for Zim to stop, he wouldn't. Not even when he was already crying from laughing so much.

"PLEASE ZIM! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! I-I CAN'T TA-HA-HA-HA-HAKE THI-HI-HI-HIS ANYMORE!"

"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of me getting my way!"

Zim felt so triumphant of himself. He was finally overpowering his human enemy! And he had finally used his enemy's weakeness against him! Nothing could ruin this moment! Or so he thought.

It was getting harder and harder for Dib to breathe at this moment. Zim would not stop tickling his stomach and underarms at the same time! He didn't know how much longer he could take this.

It wasn't long until he started laughing silently, and then he was starting to feel lightheaded. Then the room started spinning a little. "ZIM S-STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! I LITERALLY CA-HA-HA-HAN'T—HA-HA-HA—I-I CAN'T TAKE IT...ANY—Any...A-Anymore..." Dib was laughing so hard for so much time, that he ended up going unconscious. Zim didn't notice at first.

"Finally!" he said, stopping his rapidly moving fingers for the moment. "Finally after all this time, I manage to render the Dib-human weak! Now you're finished, Dib-filth. You hear me? Finished! With this new weakness of yours, I can finally stop you from ruining my evil plans to take over the planet!" He cackled his evil laugh. "Go ahead and say that you'll try to stop me." He waited for a response, but then realized how quiet the room got. Zim didn't hear Dib laughing anymore. In fact, he saw that he wasn't moving at all!

Taking a closer look, Zim saw that Dib was unresponsive. "Maybe he didn't hear me clearly," he thought out loud. "I said," he spoke in a louder voice. "Now that I know your weakness, you won't be able to stop me from terrorizing this filthy planet!" Again, he got no response.

"What's the matter with you, human?" Zim asked, poking Dib's shoulder. "Why aren't you answering me? And why did you decide to fall asleep during my moment of triumph and revenge?" Still, no response. It was just silence.

What was going on? Zim thought. One minute, he could hear Dib's crazy loud laughter and the next minute, he suddenly goes limp and silent. Did he do something wrong?

Gir climbed up on the table. "Is Mary okay?" he asked with worry in his voice.

"I...I don't know," Zim answered. "Maybe he's just...sleeping?" He kept poking and shaking his shoulder, hoping he would wake up. "Seriously? I couldn't have killed him that quick...could I?"

Zim and Gir spend the next twenty seconds trying to wake Dib up. They tried everything: shaking him, poking him, threatening to probe him if he didn't wake up, but nothing worked. Finally, Zim decided to use a last resort to wake the human up.

"Well if this doesn't work, then I don't know what will," Zim said as he suddenly help up a pair of defibrillators. He rubbed them together, before hovering them above Dib's limp body. "Stand back, Gir. This might get a little ugly."

Dib's eyes suddenly started to flutter open. Everything looked fuzzy at first but once his vision finally adjusted, he saw that Zim was about to shock him with defibrillators!

"Clear!" Zim exclaimed as he lowered the sparking defibrillators.

Dib right away shot his hands up at Zim's wrists, and pushed him away before he was about to be cooked by electricity.

His sudden response freaked Zim out, and cause him to yelp and drop the medical equipment. "What the—?! Dib? You're alive?!"

"Of course I'm alive!" Dib yelled back, releasing Zim's wrists.

"Well that's a shocker. I thought you were asleep for a minute there, and then I thought were dead."

"Mary!" Gir squealed happily, glomping Dib in a hug. "You're okay!"

"Not...really," Dib winced. When Gir finally released him, he slowly sat up and hugged himself while still wincing. "Ow."

"What's wrong, Mary?" Gir asked.

"M-My stomach hurts."

Zim tilted his head. "Wait a second...did you go unconscious back there?"

Dib glared at him. "Of course I did, you alien jerk! I was literally begging you to stop, but you didn't! How could you?"

"Well how was I supposed to know?"

"Maybe you should've stopped when I asked you to!" Dib winced again because his tummy and sides hurt badly. His throat suddenly felt scratchy, and his head started to hurt.

Gir patted his head. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you." Dib yelped when Gir suddenly picked him up and dragged him off the table by his ankles.

As soon as they left, Zim was left alone feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. He didn't mean to make Dib angry, or make him accidentally pass out. He just wanted to get him back, not accidentally hurt him. Now he felt something...a strange feeling. He felt guilt.

Upstairs, Dib was dumped on the couch. He weakly sat up, and was surprised when Gir handed him a glass of water. "Um, thanks."

After he finished his drink, Gir asked, "Does your tummy still hurt?"

"Y-Yeah a little. Why?"

Gir suddenly perked up, and hopped off the couch. Then he returned a few minutes later with a box of band-aids.

Dib tilted his head in confusion. "What are those for?"

"To make your tummy feel better!" Gir said, climbing back up on the couch. Before Dib could say anything else, Gir lifted up his blue shirt and started placing band-aids all over his belly.

The young boy twitched and giggled a little while trying to push Gir's hands away. "Gir sto-ho-ho-hop! I'm not in the mood to laugh anymore!"

Just before he was about to finish up, Gir noticed there was a strange little opening on Dib's lower belly. Not really an opening, but it looked more like a little hole. Gir thought Dib had been injured there so he placed a bright yellow band-aid with a smiley face right on top of his belly button. Then he pulled Dib's shirt down.

"Feeling better?" the little robot asked.

Dib shook his head with a smile at Gir's childish assistance. "Sure. I guess that did help. A lot, actually. Thanks, Gir." He suddenly frowned when Zim walked into the room.

"Listen, you have every human right to be mad at me," Zim said, lowering his head a little.

"Clearly," said Dib. "I can't believe you literally made me pass out laughing!"

Zim grabbed his antennas in frustration. "Urrggh! Why are you humans so ridiculously fragile? It just makes everything harder!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Look, I know I might have accidentally rendered you unconscious back there—even though I never meant to in the first place—but now, I know what I did wrong. And I know how to rectify my mistake. So...I am politely asking if I can show the Dib-human that I can be more gentler."

Dib squinted at him suspiciously. "Forget it. No way."

"What?" Zim exclaimed. "I even asked politely! You dare turn down Zim's rare politeness?!"

"Forget it, Zim!" Dib said, getting off the couch. "You're obviously lying. Look what you just did today. You really think I'm going to let you near me after you made me pass out from laughing?"

Before Zim could answer, Dib grabbed his jacket from Gir, put it on, and walked out of the house without saying another word. Zim stood there, completely stunned.

"Is Mary coming back?" asked Gir. "Is he still mad at us?"

Zim didn't really know how to answer that. He didn't know either. "I'm not sure, Gir. But don't worry, we'll make it up to him."

**A few minutes later**

When Dib finally got home, he finally peeled off all the band-aids from his stomach. He still felt mad about what Zim did to him, but he also felt tired from all that laughing. At least his sides and belly didn't hurt anymore.

In the living room, Gaz was sitting on the couch and in complete focus of her video game. She didn't seem to notice that her brother was gone nearly the whole afternoon.

Dib ran up to her. "Gaz! Gaz, you'll never believe what just happened to me today!"

His sister sighed and put her game down. "For the millionth time Dib, I don't care about your personal problems."

"But this is serious, Gaz!" Dib said, sitting next to her. "I was kidnapped by Zim, and he took me back to his secret lair where he ended up making me pass out from his evil torture! Can you believe it, Gaz! Zim actually made me go unconscious!"

Gaz was ignoring everyone word he was saying, and trying to focus on her game. But she couldn't concentrate while her brother kept ranting on and on about his encounter with Zim. "Listen Dib," she growled. "I'm trying to get past this secret level so can you give me some space?" She got off the couch and started walking to her room.

"But Gaz! Don't you wanna know how I barely survived my torturous encounter with Zim?" Dib called out.

"Not really," Gaz called back. "Why don't you go bother Dad with your personal problems?"

Dib considered that thought. He really wanted to talk to someone about what happened. He just needed someone to listen to him right now. So he went downstairs to his father's lab in hopes that maybe he could talk to him.

When he got downstairs, Dib ran up to his father, Professor Membrane, who was right in the middle of finishing up an experiment. "Dad! Dad, I need to talk to you!" When he got no response, Dib tugged on his father's lab coat. "Dad, I really need to talk to you. It's about Zim!"

Professor Membrane put down the clipboard he was currently looking at. "Can't it wait until later, son? I'm almost done with this very important experiment."

"But Dad," Dib whined, tugging harder on his lab coat. "This is serious! I was kidnapped and tortured by Zim nearly two hours ago! Don't you care about any of that?"

"Son, _please_," Membrane sighed, prying Dib off his coat. "We can discuss this later about you and your so-called alien friend. But right now, I need to finish up this last experiment."

Dib felt like crying. It felt like not even his own father would want to listen to him. He couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. "All I wanted was for you to just listen to me, just once! But it looks like you have more time for your precious experiments than you have for me!" Tears of frustration flooded his eyes. "I guess you c-care more about real s-science than you care a-about me."

Membrane's heart nearly broke at that last sentence. He turned around and was about to say something, but Dib sped out of his lab.

He couldn't believe it. His own son felt like he didn't care enough about him, but that wasn't true. He loved him unconditionally like any parent would, but sometimes he wished there was more hours in the day so he could spend with him.

Dib's hurtful words were echoing in the Professor's mind, but he shook it off. He glanced at the overhead clock on the wall. The time read: 6:30. It wasn't too late. He quickly finished scribbling down some notes on the clipboard before calling it a day. Right now, he didn't care if his calculated formula was correct; he just wanted to nothing else except spend time with his little boy child.

**In Dib's room**

Dib sat on his bed, angrily wiping his tears from his eyes. "Why do I even bother? Dad's never going to listen to me. And he never has any time for me." He perked up when he heard a knock at his door.

"Son? It's me," Professor Membrane said, opening the door. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Not anymore. No," Dib said, crossing his arms and turning his back to his Dad.

Membrane felt even more hurt, but he wasn't going to give up. He walked over to Dib's bed. "It's okay, I'm finished with my work now."

"Yeah right."

"Really, I am. I ended up finishing earlier than expected. Now I'm here to listen to you now, son."

Dib perked up a little. "R-Really? You're seriously done for the day?"

"That's right," the Professor nodded. "And by the looks of time, we have about two and half hours until your bedtime to talk about this...alien encounter you said happened earlier."

"Okay!" Dib exclaimed happily.

"Now, you did say you were recently kidnapped by this alien, correct?"

"That's right, Dad! I barely made it out of there alive!"

"And, you didn't happen to come into direct physical contact with the alien, did you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Membrane let out a horrified gasp. "Oh no, this is terrible!"

"What? What is it?" Dib could hear the sudden concern in his Dad's voice. He suddenly squeaked in surprise when he was lifted up and being carried downstairs to the laboratory. "Um...why are we going back to your lab?"

The Professor placed him on one of his padded lab tables. "Well now that you explained to me that you came into physical contact with a foreign alien species, I need to run a quick physical examination. And fast!" Even though he didn't believe in aliens as much as Dib did, Membrane decided he could play along for what he was really planning to do with Dib. And this was the perfect excuse.

"Run a physical exam?" Dib repeated. "But why?"

"Don't you understand? Who knows what kind of horrible alien space germs he left behind! Or worse, what if he could have experimented and mutated your body while you were unconscious, and you never knew?"

Dib looked at himself. "Oh...I never thought about it that way."

"Which is why I need to check to make sure nothing is wrong or missing, and that you came home in one piece." Membrane smirked a little behind his lab coat collar.

Dib wasn't even suspicious about what his Dad was saying at all. In fact, he seemed pretty concerned about his own self more than ever. "Okay then. I'll let you check up on me."

"Very good, son. But first, I'll need you to remove your jacket and shoes. You know, to make this checkup run more smoothly and make things easier for me."

Dib nodded and took off his jacket, and slipped off his shoes. He didn't even find that suspicious at all. He had no idea what his Dad's true intentions were.

"All right, now lie down so I can begin the examination."

First, Membrane gently lifted Dib's limbs to make him think that he was really checking him up. Then he took his little hands and counted all his fingers on each hand before he moved down to Dib's little feet.

The Professor carefully took Dib's right foot, and then started to slowly drag a finger up and down his sock covered foot.

Dib right away bit his bottom lip and let out a muffled squeal while twitching his leg. "D-Dad! What are you doing?!"

"I told you, I'm running a physical checkup," Membrane answered calmly while still stroking the bottom of Dib's little sock foot. "Right now, I'm checking to see if your nerves still react to stimuli. So far, everything looks good."

Dib squealed again when he felt another finger stroke at his other foot. He relaxed and sighed when his Dad stopped. But panic quickly rose in his chest when he felt his father slowly start to take his left sock off. "W-Wait! Now what are you doing?"

"Relax, Dib. I'm just going to check to see if you came home with all your toes."

Before Dib could say anything, he squeaked and exploded with child-like giggles when Membrane suddenly grabbed and played with his little toes. "D-Dad! Sto-ho-ho-ho-hop! I'm no-ho-ho-hot in the mood to be tickled anymore!"

"Now son, I think you misunderstand," Membrane said, still gently wiggling his son's little toes between his fingers. "I'm not trying to tickle you here. I'm just checking to see if you have all your toes. Not that one is missing, but just making sure."

Dib couldn't stop giggling now. He was twitching and kicking his left leg like crazy. Just when his Dad finished with his left foot, he shrieked and giggled again when the same thing happened with his right foot.

"Stop it, Dad! Sto-ho-ho-hop! Hee-hee-hee-hee! T-That tickles!" He kept giggling for a few more seconds before finally, those tingling surges to his feet stopped.

"Well son, I am pleased to say that none of your toes or fingers are missing."

"Phew," Dib sighed. "So you're done now?"

"Done?" Membrane asked in a surprised tone. "Of course not! This is only part one of your physical checkup. We still have many areas to cover."

Dib was about to open his mouth to protest, but he suddenly shrieked and giggled louder when his Dad started gently squeezing his knees. That sent strong tickling surges, and made him wildly kick out his legs. "Aaah! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Dad no! Aaah! Stop i-hi-hi-hi-hit! Aaah! Hee-hee-hee!"

"Good news," Membrane said over the sound of Dib's loud giggles. "Your reflexes seem to be functioning normally. Now, let me see your arms."

"F-For what?" Dib asked, trying to calm his giggles.

"To make sure you didn't sprout an extra limb from that alien's toxic touch."

Dib giggled again at his Dad's silly antics. He hadn't played around with him like this for a long time. "I didn't grow an extra limb!"

"How do you know that? Are you a scientist like me? I don't think so. But not to worry, son. I'll do this quick, but I still need you to cooperate with me."

When Dib still refused to lift his arms up, Membrane went ahead and pinned his wrists above his head with only one hand. "Now hold still." He gently pressed two fingers against the shirt covered skin under his right arm and slowly wiggled them.

Dib squeaked before getting lost in an adorable, loud laughing fit. He started tugging at his arms while squirming from side to side, and kicking his legs. "DAD NO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! C-CUT IT AHA-HA-HA-HA-OUT!"

"Dib, what did I say about moving?" Membrane playfully scolded. He suddenly switched to Dib's other arm, which made him twitch and laugh harder. "So far, I don't feel any growing appendages under your arms. Unless..." he suddenly slipped his fingers inside Dib's shirt sleeve to stoke at the sensitive skin underneath. "It must be right...here!"

Dib shrieked with loud laughter as his Dad's fingers wiggled against the ticklish skin of his underarms. It felt so much worse than what he was doing before! "AAAH! D-DA-HA-HA-HA-HAD! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA! NO PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! J-JUST LEAVE ME-HEE-HEE-HEE ALONE ALREADY!"

"After I see for myself that you came home in one piece," Membrane said over his son's loud laughter. "Now then..." He slipped his fingers out from Dib's shirt sleeve. "We're almost done."

Dib squeaked and squirmed nervously as his Dad slowly rolled his shirt up to his ribs. "W-What are you gonna do now?"

"I'm just going to check to make sure you have all your ribs in the right place, and to make sure none of them are missing," the Professor answered.

Dib squeaked again and wiggled from side to side as he felt Membrane gently press a single finger against his highest rib on his right side, and then slowly drag it downward. "AAAH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO DAD! NO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA! S-STOP DOI-HI-HI-HING THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

"Oh son...you know I can't understand you when you're laughing like that."

For some reason, hearing his Dad say that made Dib laugh harder. He knew he was just playing around with him. And despite these unbearable tickles, Dib was secretly enjoying this.

He could feel his cheeks starting to become warm with all his laughing. But his laughs suddenly went high-pitched when Membrane was slowly stroking and wiggling a finger against each individual rib. "D-DAD! DAD PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I HA-HA-HA-HAVE ALL MY RIBS!"

"Are you sure?" Professor Membrane asked teasingly.

Dib nodded frantically. "YES! YE-HE-HE-HE-HES! I DO!" He was desperately tugging at his wrists, hoping he'd break free from his Dad's strong grip. But it was no use; Membrane's grip was as strong as steel.

Dib started squirming around and shrieking laughter like crazy when he felt his Dad's fingers dig into his ribs and wiggle vigorously. "AAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! DA-HA-HA-HA-HAD! STOP ALREADY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Behind his lab coat collar, Membrane was smiling at the adorable sight of his laughing son. He decided to save the best surprise for last, and he couldn't wait to make his little son's already pink cheeks blush even more with more laughs.

He finally released Dib's wrists and pulled his shirt down. "Well son, you were right; it looks like you do have all your ribs in the right place after all."

Panting a little, Dib wiped a few happy tears from the corners of his eyes. "So...we're...we're done?"

"Almost. There's still one more thing I need to check." Dib whined a little. "Relax, Dib," Membrane said, lifting the little boy's shirt a little. "It's the last and easiest check of all. I just need to make sure that you still have your—" He paused mid-sentence, and then surprised Dib when he started checking all over his body.

"Dad? What are you looking for?"

The Professor didn't answer at first but when Dib asked again, he finally said, "Your belly button. I can't seem to find it for some reason. Are you sure Zim didn't take it?"

Dib burst into adorable bubbly giggles when he heard that. "Yes, Dad. I'm positive Zim didn't steal my belly button."

"Did he place it somewhere else? Because I can't seem to find it."

Dib giggled even harder. "No, I don't think so."

Membrane resumed checking him over. "Then where is it?"

Rolling his eyes, Dib lifted up his own shirt and pointed to his belly button. "What are you talking about, Dad? It's right here!"

Membrane pretended to be relieved. "Oh thank goodness. It looks like you came home in one piece after all. Now, to complete your exam, I need to make sure it's still attached to your stomach. We don't want it falling off in the middle of the night, or during the day when you're walking around." While saying that, the Professor was also pinning Dib's wrists above his head again.

Meanwhile, Dib was already giggling up a storm while wriggling in anticipation. He should have expected something like this to happen. This whole checkup was rigged from the start!

Dib suddenly let out a loud girly squeal, and started kicking his legs wildly when he felt a single finger slowly trace around his belly button. "EEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! DAD NO-HO-HO-HO! PLEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! N-NOT THERE!" He shrieked and laughed even harder he felt his Dad's finger dip inside a little, and start wiggling. "AAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! DAD STAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

Dib was squirming like a worm, and kicking his legs like crazy. He couldn't sit still anymore, and he couldn't stop laughing. This was just tickling too much for him.

Lucky for him, his playful father decided to give him a breather. "Thank goodness," he said. "It's still attached to your stomach, after all."

Poor Dib laid nearly limp on the table, breathing heavily and weakly tugging at his wrists that were still pinned over his head. His cheeks were slightly red from all that laughing. "C'mon Dad...I'm fine already. Now your acting like Zim; torturing me until I can't breathe anymore."

"Speaking of Zim," his father piped up. "I wanted to ask you something about that alien."

"Okay...what?" Dib asked, still panting.

"I'm a little concerned that Zim might have infected you in some kind of way."

"Infected me how?"

Membrane gently rested his fingertips against Dib's tummy. "Well, I don't want to scare you by saying this, but...there is a possibility that the alien might have implanted tiny, possibly microscopic, alien eggs inside here." He gently traced a finger around Dib's belly button again, making the boy twitch and squeal. "And that could be life threatening. You wouldn't want tiny alien parasites to travel to your stomach and eat your organs from the inside out, would you?" Dib shook his head while giggling. "Then hold still while I check really quickly for—"

"No wait!" Dib cried out. "Please don't...don't do it, Dad! I-I'm fine! There are no alien eggs in my belly button! I swear!"

"Relax, son," the Professor said, patting Dib's head. "It won't even hurt a bit, but I do need you to stay still for this last part."

"You know that's not possible!"

"Well at least try."

"But Dad!" Dib jolted with a loud squeak when his father's finger dipped inside his belly button a little. The moment he felt the finger start to wiggle, Dib lost it and burst into adorable, loud laughter. "AAAH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! DAD NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HAAAA! PLEASE STO-HO-HO-HOP! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!"

Membrane couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his adorably laughing, wildly squirming son. "So far, I don't feel any tiny alien eggs. But don't worry son, I'll keep looking." He wiggled his finger a little faster.

Dib squealed and laughed harder. He was frantically trying to twist his torso from side to side, trying to shake his Dad's finger off. But no matter which way he turned, his Dad's finger would just follow. "AAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! PLEASE DAD! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HA-HA-HA-HA! I-IT TICKLES SO BA-HA-HA-HAD!" Dib was laughing so much, he actually started snorting a little between laughs.

His Dad chuckled at the silly sound he emitted. He kept tickling his little belly button for a while longer before finally deciding to stop.

Poor Dib was a heavily panting, blushing mess when the tickles finally stopped. As soon as he felt his wrists were released, he quickly pulled his shirt down.

"Well you're lucky, son," Membrane said. "I found no trace of alien eggs inside your belly button. Which is a good thing because like I mentioned earlier, it could have been life threatening. How are you feeling now?"

Dib slowly sat up, panting and still giggling a little. His cheeks were still a light pink. "I'm fine. But I'm getting kinda tired." He suddenly yawned.

Membrane carefully lifted his sleepy son into his arms. He cradled Dib in one arm while grabbing his shoes, socks, and jacket with his other hand.

Dib was so tired when he got carried back to his bedroom, that he didn't have the energy to put on his pajamas. He sat on his bed with a sleepy look as his Dad helped him change out of his clothes.

Just as Membrane threw Dib's shirt and pants into the nearby laundry hamper, he heard him squeak and call out for him.

"Dad! A-A little help?" While trying to put on his pajama shirt, Dib somehow got his arms stuck in the sleeves and he couldn't bring them down. His face was covered behind his own shirt, which was pushed up and exposed his entire stomach.

The Professor chuckled at the sight of his son having trouble with his own shirt. "Silly Dib. That's not how you put on a shirt."

"Can you just help me?" Dib's muffled voice came from behind his pajama shirt. He tried pulling his arms down, but they were stuck inside the sleeves.

"Oh all right. Hold still." While trying to tug Dib's shirt down, he unintentionally brushed his fingers along his ribs.

Instantly, Dib flinched and giggled while squirming around. "D-Dad! Hee-hee-hee-hee! No please! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Not again!"

"Son, hold still!" Membrane playfully scolded. "I can't help you if your moving around so much."

"I-I can't help i-hi-hi-hi-hit!"

It took several long minutes, but Dib's father was finally able to help him pull his shirt down and get his arms through the sleeves.

"Better?"

Dib nodded. "Uh-huh." His face suddenly fell. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Dad."

Membrane leaned down next to his son. "No, no, it's okay. I should be the one apologizing to you. You wanted to talk to me earlier, and I was so caught up in my work. But just know that I would never consider my studies more important than you. I love you very much, son."

Dib smiled back and hugged his Dad around his neck. He giggled a little when he felt him nuzzle his cheek through his lab coat collar.

"Now let me kiss you good night so you can get some rest, all right?"

"Okay, Dad. And thanks again for making me feel better after that whole—AAAAHHH! DA-HA-HA-HAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOI-HI-HI-HI-HING?!"

Dib screeched with loud giggles again when his Dad started tickling his tummy again. He pushed Dib's shirt up, pulled his coat collar down to expose his nose and lips, and began planting many little kisses all over his son's belly. But he was mostly paying special attention to Dib's belly button. He even had to pin Dib's legs down, and hold his wrists above his head so Dib wouldn't try to stop him.

"What do you mean?" Membrane asked innocently. "I'm just kissing you good night. Specifically, right on your little mouth."

Dib giggled like crazy, and tried wriggling on his side when he felt more ticklish little kisses being planted on his belly button. "STOP NO-HO-HO-HO! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! T-THAT'S NO-HO-HO-HOT MY MA-HA-HA-MOUTH!"

"What are you talking about?" the Professor asked, lifting his head from Dib's stomach. "Of course this is your mouth." He released Dib's legs for a moment so he could gently wiggle his finger against his belly button. "You know, anatomically speaking, your belly button was your first mouth because that's where your umbilical cord was once attached. So it's safe for me to say that I'm simply kissing you good night on your mouth." Then he went back to planting more ticklish kisses.

Dib was so lost in his uncontrollable laughter that he didn't realize what he was saying. "AAAHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! OKA-HA-HA-HAY! WHATEVER! JUST...STOP KISSING M-MY TUMMY'S MA-HA-HA-HA-MOUTH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! C'MON DAD STO-HO-HO-HOP! HA-HA-HA-HA! AAAH! Y-YOU'RE SO HORRIBLE AHA-HA-HAND EVIL! HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Professor Membrane released Dib's limbs, and gasped dramatically. He pretended to be angry. "_What _did you just say to me, son?"

Realizing what he just said, Dib's eyes widened and he covered his mouth with a loud gasp. "Oh my gosh...Dad I am so sorry. I-I didn't mean what I said and—" With a squeak of fear, he suddenly disappeared under his blanket.

His father chuckled. He couldn't believe Dib actually thought he was going to hurt him. Instead, he had something else planned.

"So..." he said, sitting next to little trembling lump on the bed. "You not only say I'm evil, but that I'm _horrible _as well?" When he got no answer, Membrane yanked the blanket off Dib who squealed in response.

Right away, Dib grabbed his nearby pillow and held it protectively against his chest. His Dad raised an eyebrow at him. "You really think that is going to stop me?"

Before Dib could answer, he shrieked when the pillow was yanked out of his hands and he was suddenly scooped in his father's arms. He tried squirming free.

"Now what was that about?" Membrane asked. "What was with the name calling?"

"It wasn't _my _fault!" Dib said, still trying to squirm out of his father's arms. "You kept tickling me, and making me laugh so much, and it just slipped out!"

"How does something like that just 'slip out?'"

"It's your fault!"

Membrane shook his head with mock disappointment. "Oh sure. You just blame everyone but yourself, and say nothing but excuses."

Dib suddenly squeaked when he was gently tossed onto his bed. Before he could even get up, he suddenly found his arms pinned down next to his sides.

"Now," said his Dad, towering over the small boy. "are you going to apologize for your very rude words?"

"I don't have to apologize for anything," Dib playfully challenged his father. "And you know what? Between you and Zim, you seem _waaay _more eviler than him right now. More evil than the alien invader!"

The Professor smirked behind his coat collar. His son was so asking for it! "Oh. So now your calling me an evil alien, is that right? Well then, if you think I'm so evil...then why don't I show you how evil I can be!"

Right when Dib saw his Dad lean his head down to his belly, he panicked and braced his little feet against his chest. "Wait, no! You're not getting me this time, Dad!"

Membrane just shook his head with a smile. Then he scooted Dib close to the edge of his bed where he quickly pinned his little legs against his own chest, and used one hand to pin Dib's wrists above his head. "You were saying?" He chuckled at the irritated face his son gave him.

With his free hand, the playful Professor pushed Dib's pajama shirt up to his chest. Dib was already squirming and giggling in anticipation when he saw his Dad pull his lab coat collar down to expose his nose and lips.

Then Membrane leaned down to gently press his face against Dib's tummy. He instantly got Dib to giggle squeakily by rubbing his nose tip all over the soft skin of his belly.

"D-Dad! Hee-hee-hee-hee! No please! Not aga-ha-ha-hain! Hee-hee-hee!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't be disrespectful towards your father, son," the Professor spoke into Dib's little tummy.

"Oka-ha-ha-hay! I'm sorry-hee-hee-hee-hee! Ha-ha-ha! I-I take it ba-ha-ha-ha-hack!"

"Oh so now you want to quickly apologize? You really think I'm going to forgive you that easily for your very rude behavior?"

"C'mo-ho-ho-hon Dad! Hee-hee-hee! Cut it aha-ha-ha-ha-out already!"

"Oh I will...right after I teach you a lesson!"

Dib shrieked with even louder giggles when he suddenly felt his Dad nipping at his sensitive belly. "AAAH! DA-HA-HA-HA-HAD! NO PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA! D-DON'T—HEE-HEE-HEE—DON'T DO THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

"Are you sorry for your rude behavior and name calling?"

"YES! YE-HE-HE-HES I AHA-HA-HA-HAM!" Dib was tugging at his wrists and trying to move his trapped legs, but he couldn't free himself. His own laughter was slowly weakening him. But despite these unbearable tickles, Dib was actually having fun playing with his Dad like this. At least he wasn't so ruthless like Zim was, and actually let him catch his breath when he asked him to stop.

When he felt his father start to nip against the sensitive skin around his belly button, Dib let out a high-pitched shriek and squirmed even more wildly. "EEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO DAD! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HAP! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! Y-YOU'RE SO-HO-HO MEAN TO ME-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Membrane narrowed his eyes at his little boy. "Now you're calling me mean? You want me to get mean? I'll get mean!"

Dib suddenly screamed with hysterical laughter as his Dad decided to blow a huge raspberry against the center of his belly. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! DA-HA-HA-HA-HAD! NO! I-I'M WA-HA-HA-HAY TOO OLD FOR THA-HA-HAT NOW!"

"I beg to differ. You're still my adorable, precious little baby boy!" Membrane cooed at him.

"S-STOP TEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASING ME LIKE THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT! HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I'M NOT—AAAAAAHHHH!"

Dib screamed even louder when his Dad suddenly pressed his lips against his belly button, and blew repeatedly. "_PFFFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFF!"_

"AAAAAAAHHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! DAAAAAD! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! STAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!" Dib squirmed violently on his bed, yanking on his trapped wrists while laughing his little heart out. His poor little tummy was tingling like crazy, and it was unbearably tickly. "DAD PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! D-DON'T! HA-HA-HA-HA! STOP!"

"Don't stop? Well okay then!" Membrane grinned against Dib's stomach before slipping his free arm behind his back to arch his stomach a little, and keep his son in place. Then he pressed his mouth over Dib's belly button, and blew repeatedly once again while shaking his head. "_PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

Dib completely lost it and screamed laughter. "AAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! DAD NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! N-NO MO-HO-HO-HORE! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! T-THAT'S NO-HO-HO-HOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Well then you should have been more specific," his father said teasingly before blowing another fat raspberry against Dib's belly button. "_PFFFFFFFFFF!"_

Dib shrieked laughter like a little child until he had tears in the corners of his tightly shut eyes. "DAD! DAD STAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! STOP PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! I-I CA-HA-HA-HA-HAN'T TAKE I-HI-HI-HIT ANYMO-HO-HO-HO-HORE!"

Finally, after a few more long seconds of tickling and more raspberries, Professor Membrane finally stopped tickling his little boy. He released him, and let Dib take several long minutes to calm himself and catch his breath. "Are you okay, son?"

Dib nodded tiredly while still panting. "Yeah...I'm...I'm fine." He sat up and tugged his shirt down. "But don't...don't ever do that again. I'm too old for that now."

"Of course you're not," Membrane said, playfully ruffling his son's hair. "You are never too old to laugh. Unless...you're just a little embarrassed that you're super ticklish?"

"I'm not _that _ticklish," Dib said, fixing his hair.

"Oh really? You want me to prove you wrong?"

Dib's eyes widened. "No wait! No! You're right, okay? I _am _super ticklish!"

His Dad laughed at his reaction. Dib was so panicky that he was going to get tickled again that he even pulled his pajama pants up to cover his belly button. "Relax, son. Maybe some other time. For now, you should get some sleep." He tucked his son into bed before nuzzling his cheek through his lab coat collar one last time. "Sweet dreams, son."

"Good night, Dad," Dib said with a tired smile. Maybe he didn't have such a great encounter with Zim this time, but his Dad always made him feel better by the end of the day no matter what he went through.

He was so tired after all that laughing and playing around that he snuggled under his blanket, and instantly fell asleep.

**THE END**


End file.
